Daily Dose
by Natsuhiboshi
Summary: Part 1 of 3. Toph and Zuko are left alone and the blind earthbender gives the fire prince his daily dose of common sense. "You are fire, Zuko."


Daily Dose

"Sokka! No!" Katara yelled stretching an arm out as her brother disappeared into the trees. Sokka wanted meat, not fish. "You won't find anything!" she yelled.

"I will!" he retorted.

Beside her, Aang hopped to his feet and smiled at the remaining group members. "I'll go after him to make sure he's ok."

"But Aan-"

"I'll be fine Katara. No big deal."

And like Sokka, Aang disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

The firelight danced across Katara's face and Zuko could immediately identify the look of concern that marred her usually pretty features.

"Alright, Sugar Queen, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and go after 'em, no one's gonna stop you." Toph mumbled, stretching out her limbs. Katara looked at the blind bandit.

"Will you two be ok?"

Toph snorted, "He won't be able to touch me."

That was all the reassurance Katara needed before bouncing to her feet and running the path that her brother and Aang took previously.

"She actually thinks that I would hurt you?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"You already _did_ remember? You burned my feet." Toph answered.

Zuko flinched. "That was an accident." He breathed. "Well _duh_." Toph sighed. "If you did it on purpose I would've killed you by now."

"Thanks for letting me know you care."

"That's just about as deep as my affection goes, Sparky."

Zuko looked away to stare at the think sliver of silver in the sky, the only other source of light besides the fire that was slowly dying before them.

"What? You miss her already? She's been gone for three minutes, calm down."

"I do not miss her."

"You're vibrations tell me otherwise. Just what the hell are you waiting for anyway? The sky to fall?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Katara. You like her. Say something."

Zuko laughed bitterly. "It's not that easy."

"Because you're making it difficult. Just speak up."

Zuko didn't know how to answer to that. The subject would go to deep… he would reveal things he wanted no one to know. But it was too late. He opened his mouth and he couldn't stop talking. It was Toph, she knew more things than anyone should.

"Aang loves her. The _Avatar_ loves her. How could I possibly compete with that?" Zuko asked and Toph noted how tired and afraid he sounded.

"She went to Aunt Wu a couple of times you know. She said Katara would fall in love and marry a powerful bender, or something like that."

"I thought you were trying to encourage me. All you're doing is insulting my ability to bend, or lack thereof."

"Your highness will you please _shut up_ and _listen_ to me? Thanks. Much appreciated." Toph began again, "I'm blind but that doesn't mean I let people walk all over me. That makes me a strong bender. Sokka is a complete moron _and_ he can't bend, but when his precious ones are threatened, he's practically invincible. That makes him powerful. Aang is just a child and yet here he is, trying to save the world. He's a powerful bender. Haru was a powerful bender, never stopping his practice simply because people told him to.

Power, like love, comes in various forms. At this rate, Katara could be getting married to any bender we've met. That's including you.

You've admitted that you have wronged us, you have begged for our forgiveness, and you have openly admitted that you need us in order to win. All that crap takes courage, and courage is power. Not to mention your firewhips are pretty wicked. You're a powerful bender.

The thing about Aang loving Katara and Katara loving Aang is simple: it's pretty, but it won't go far. Aang is the _Avatar_ he cannot belong to one person. He is the worlds. He cannot love one thing more than the other. _He was born to love everything equally._You on the other hand…

What Katara needs is light. Light is steadfast, something strong and bright and can lead her out of confusion; it can lead her away from the darkness. Wind… it comes from all directions and can cause to lead her into more confusion. Wind can blow the clouds to block the sun.

But the sun can break through. The light, Zuko, is _you_. Light is fire, and you _are_ fire."

Zuko stared straight into Toph's milky eyes. "For a blind girl, you see much more than one with eyes."

"I _feel_ Zuko. That is much more important than seeing."

Zuko opened his mouth to say something more but stopped when Toph said, "Katara is coming."

A minute later an indigo figure emerged from the thicket and smiled at them. "They're both perfectly fine." She sat down and rubbed her hands over her exposed arms and Zuko took that as a cue to relight the fire. It roared to life crackling and shining brightly.

"I'm going to practice my bending." He said to no one in particular and stood off to the side, slipping into his common pose.

The area in which they were camping suddenly came to life with a beautiful but still sort-of simple light show.

"He's a powerful bender, isn't he?" Toph asked her friend softly.

Katara's blue eyes danced in Zuko's fire and she smiled. "Yes, he is."

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**A/N: My first but worked hard on Zutara One-Shot. Yeah. Thanks for reading, it's appreciated. R&R.**


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